Give Yourself a Break!

I don't know about you, but I jumped headfirst into the waters of my first manuscript and didn't come to the surface for, oh, like six months.

Then I realized I had a family who wanted me to feed them and talk to them.

But then the pressures of succeeding pressed in again, and I had to keep writing, keep editing, to prove to myself that I could do it. I could get an agent. I could get a contract.

I pushed through the exhaustion, the doubts, and the prose I'd drafted with one goal in mind. Get published.

Last summer I came one step closer to that goal when I landed an agent. And praise the Lord, my agent understands how difficult my current phase of life is...living as a stay-at-home mom with two young children. But not all writers find themselves in such a flexible situation.

I've recently talked to friends who are unagented who are facing the doubts and the pressures. They keep hearing that they should meet a certain word-count quota or they're placing self-imposed pressure to get to the next step. In all these interactions, one thing keeps coming to mind.

SLOW. DOWN.

Yes, I'm shouting those words. You see, in this pre-agented/pre-published stage of your writing career, this is one time when YOU get to choose your deadlines. You get to soak in all you can, to write for the pure joy of it, without time pressure or content expectations.

Obviously if your ultimate goal is to get published, you want to craft a story that will be publishable. And sure, plenty of people recommend sticking to a regular writing schedule.

But I'm here today to take the pressure off of you. If you have a family who needs you, throw the writing schedule to the wind for a while. If you're facing a tough emotional struggle, write something to soothe your hurts rather than pumping out drivel that you don't feel.

This is one time you are free to write whatever you want, whenever you want. So embrace it! And enjoy the moment. Because once you're published, you can never go back.

What sort of pressures do you place on yourself or your writing journey? Do you find yourself anxious to make it to the next step of your career? How often do you slow down and just enjoy where you're at?

*Water photo by Koratmember / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
**Odometer photo by Arvind Balaraman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Sarah Forgrave is a stay-at-home writer-mom who feels blessed to pursue her calling and passion. She writes contemporary romance for the inspirational market and is a regular contributor to the webzine Ungrind.

To learn more about Sarah, visit her personal blog at:
http://www.sarahforgrave.com/blog